Lior Ashkenazi

Lior Ashkenazi (Hebrew: ליאור אשכנזי‎; born 28 December 1968) is an Israeli actor, voice actor, comedian and television presenter.[1]

Lior Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi in 2006
Born (1968-12-28) December 28, 1968
Ramat Gan, Israel
OccupationActor, voice actor, comedian, television presenter
Years active1993-present
Spouse(s)Shira Farber
(m. 19??; div. 2005)
Maya Amsellem
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2

Early life

Ashkenazi was born in Ramat Gan, Israel, and grew up in its Neveh Yehoshua neighborhood. His parents are Sephardi Jewish emigrants from Istanbul, Turkey, who moved to Israel in 1964.[2] His father, Shmuel, worked as a printer. His mother, Victoria, was a housewife. His parents spoke Ladino at home, and it was his first language. At the age of 16, in the wake of problems in school, he moved to Kibbutz Regavim.[3]

He served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces while serving in Judea and Samaria during the First Intifada.[4]

Career

He studied acting at Beit Zvi. After graduating in 1994, he worked for Habima and Beersheba Theater. He starred in many plays at Beit Lessin Theater under the direction of Zipi Pines, one of his teachers at Beit Zvi. He also appeared with the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, although Beit Lessin remained his home base.[3] His breakout role came in Late Marriage alongside Ronit Elkabetz in 2001.[4]

In 2016 he appeared alongside Hollywood actor, Richard Gere in the critically acclaimed political drama, Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer.[5] Ashkenazi won an Ophir Award for Best Lead Actor[6] for his performance in the 2017 film, Foxtrot, Israel's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.[7]

In November 2018 Ashkenazi appeared in Shakespeare's The Tempest, a joint production between the Old Globe Theatre and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.[8]

In 2019 Ashkenazi appeared in HBO's show Our Boys, an American-Israeli series.[9]

Ashkenazi is also a Hebrew-language dubber. He dubbed Li Shang in the 1998 Disney film Mulan and the 2005 sequel as well as the title character in Bolt.

Personal life

Ashkenazi was first married to actress Shira Farber, with whom he had his first daughter. After his divorce, he had a relationship with playwright and screenwriter Sigal Avin. In December 2011, he married producer Maya Amsellem. They had a daughter in August 2012.[3]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Pocahontas Kocoum (voice) Hebrew dub
1998 Mulan Captain Li Shang (voice) Hebrew dub
1999 Tarzan Adult Tarzan (voice) Hebrew dub
2001 Late Marriage (Hatuna Meuheret) Zaza
2003 Rutenberg (Ish HaHashmal, Electricity Man) Leonard
2004 Walk on Water (Lalechet Al HaMaim) Eyal
Home on the Range Buck Horse (voice) Hebrew dub
2005 Mulan II Captain Li Shang (voice) Hebrew dub
2006 The Bubble (HaBuah) Himself Cameo
2008 Bolt Bolt (voice) Hebrew dub
Hello Goodbye Yossi French film
2009 Ultimatum Gil Italian film
2010 Rabies (Kalevet) Danny The first horror feature ever from Israel[10]
2011 Footnote Uriel Shkolnik
2012 Karon Michael Short film
Yossi Moti
2013 Big Bad Wolves[11][12] Micki
2014 The Dune Hanoch French fim
2016 Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer Micha Eshel
2017 Foxtrot Michael Feldmann
2018 7 Days in Entebbe Yitzhak Rabin
2019 My Zoe Post-production
2020 Valley of Tears Menny

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2005 BeTipul Yadin Yerushalmi
2012 Nesuuim plus Shuky Avrahami Hebrew version of Married with children (his character based on Al Bundy)
2013 The Missionary Yonatan Gall TV pilot
2016 Ikaron HaHachlafa Atlas Lead role

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2001Israeli Film AcademyBest ActorLate MarriageWon
Best Supporting ActorRutenberg (Ish HaHashmal)Nominated
2004Best ActorWalk on WaterNominated[13]
2011Best Supporting ActorFootnoteWon
2017Best ActorFoxtrotWon
2015Fangoria Chainsaw AwardsBest ActorBig Bad WolvesNominated[14]

References
  1. Lior Ashkenazi’s filmography (in Hebrew)
  2. Culture (2018-03-28). "Lior Ashkenazi Goes International". Jewishjournal.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  3. The Naked Truth, Haaretz
  4. Shooting Star Haaretz. 18 August 2005
  5. Hollywood Press Praises New Israeli Films 'Norman,' 'Past Life' Haaretz. 18 September 2016
  6. To Culture Minster's Horror, 'Foxtrot' Wins Highest Award at 'Israeli Oscars' Haaretz. 19 September 2017
  7. Kamin, Debra (19 September 2017). "Israel's 'Foxtrot' Sweeps Ophir Awards to Become Country's Oscar Entry". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  8. Israeli Actor Lior Ashkenazi to Play Lead Role in L.A. Shakespeare Play Haaretz. 16 September 2018
  9. "Our Boys Cast". HBO. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2013-02-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) JFilm Festival presents: Rabies (Winner - Best Feature - Mile High Horror Film Festival)
  11. Big Bad Wolves official facebook
  12. Big Bad Wolves at IMDb
  13. Lior Ashkenazi, Biography. Omanoot Archived January 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  14. For Your Consideration: The 2015 Chainsaw Award Nominees for Best Actor!
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